


Of a Free Spirit

by yaruna



Series: Of Years Gone By [31]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Aragorn POV, Friendship, Gen, POV First Person, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 11:15:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6516193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaruna/pseuds/yaruna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli visit the forests of Ithilien.</p>
<p>Aragorn POV</p>
<p>All parts of the series are stand-alone one-shots, though some may have references to previous happenings</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of a Free Spirit

We stopped just outside of the tree line of Ithilien, and I kept my eyes firmly on Legolas, wanting to see his reaction. He was looking at the trees in wonder, and jumped off of Arod, eyes fixed at the trees.

‘Lad!’ Gimli called in surprise as he was left alone on the back of the horse. ‘Do not –’ He interrupted himself when he saw how entirely riveted Legolas was as the woodelf put his hands on the bark of one of the trees.

I dismounted from Brego and moved around the horse to give Gimli assistance, but he had already slid off from the back of the horse and was watching Legolas thoughtfully. I have often wondered what he and Legolas talked about when we were in Lothlórien, and the two ran off every so often. I wondered if Legolas ever shared with Gimli his affinity with the trees. The sympathetic smile on Gimli’s face indicated that he had.

Legolas turned back to us with a glint in his eyes.

‘I shall leave you for a moment,’ he said, before he jumped up onto the first branch of the tree, and then worked his way towards the crowns through skipping between higher and higher branches on every tree.

He jumped freely, carelessly, _exhilaratingly_ between the branches.

I held my breath as I saw him leap towards a branch that did not look as though it could hold his weight, but it held strong. I should have known it would; no branch would break under Legolas, he knows exactly where to put his feet even if it is his first time in a forest. He was as one with the trees, and as he soared between them it seemed as though they were reaching for him, greeting him. He brushed against as many branches as he could. He ran towards a large gap between trees and I again found myself holding my breath as he took the leap.

The breath of relief that was let out as he landed safely in the next tree was not entirely my own, and I looked down at the dwarf next to me.

‘That lad is crazy,’ Gimli grumbled, but he watched Legolas in wonder, never taking his eyes off of the graceful Elf. I wondered if this was what he had seen in Lothlórien, if this was what had made them reach towards each other.

I looked up at the trees again and had to search for a moment to see Legolas again. He had gotten further than I had expected in the short time that I had taken my eyes off of him, and he was not entirely easy to see between the leaves in his green garments.

‘He is steady on his feet, and the trees would not let him fall,’ I said, to alleviate my own worry as much as Gimli’s.

‘And yet, I cannot avoid thinking that he will fall. I could not stand losing that infuriating Elf to a simple accident, after we have been through so much together,’ he said with a grumble and a slight flush to his cheeks.

I smiled, remembering the first time the two had met and I had been worried they would cause each other bodily harm. When both had been selected by Elrond to join the Fellowship, I had been certain that Elrond had made a mistake, and that the ire between the two would cause a rift in the Fellowship. The first time they went off together in Lothlórien I had feared for them both, but they had come to some understanding, and had quickly bonded in the strongest of friendships. I should have known Elrond does not make mistakes.

Legolas paused for a moment and looked intently towards the West, as if listening for something. A dread filled my heart at the thought of him travelling, but then he moved again, and at once my heart felt lightened and I forgot the thought as though it had never been there.

Legolas vaulted with a shout of glee between two trees, grabbed a branch with his hand and swung himself onto another, making me laugh in surprise. He reminded me of a flying squirrel, but I knew he would not thank me for such a comparison, so I would keep it to myself.

He dove down only to land on his feet in front of us, with a wild, childlike smile on his face. I even thought that I saw some hairs about to fall out of their confining braids. Sometimes, I forget how young Legolas still is in the eyes of the Elves. For the first time since I had known Legolas, I could see it for myself, and it was a bittersweet feeling to know that so much of his youth has been spent fighting, but at least now he could finally be free.

He looked it. Free. Like he never was when he had to lead a patrol in Mirkwood, responsible for the lives of his kin. Like he never was when traveling with the Fellowship, or even after the Fellowship was broken, surely still feeling responsible for our lives as our sentry.

Something here changed him, and I knew I had made the correct choice when I had asked him to help care of this forest, to bring it back to its former beauty.

Here he could be free.


End file.
